This F32 training application seeks support for a three-year program of research and training at the University of Chicago and NORC under the guidance of Dr. Linda Waite. The proposed research aims to integrate sociological and epidemiological approaches to broaden our understanding of the course of depressive illness in older adults and the role of social context in protecting against or enhancing the risk of depressive illness. Specifically, the aims of the proposed research are: (1) to determine how the longitudinal course of depressive symptoms varies with demographic and health-related factors, (2) to determine whether spouses' depressive symptoms are associated across time, (3) to determine the individual, spousal and familial characteristics that protect against depressive symptoms with the onset of physical illness, and (4) to determine whether the onset of physical illness in one spouse is associated with depressive symptoms in the other spouse. The specific aims will be addressed with secondary analyses of longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). [unreadable] [unreadable]